Day By Day Armageddon
by irradiation
Summary: This is the journal of an ordinary college kid facing the end of life in the galaxy as everyone knows it. But he is not alone. Drawn into the world of Commander Shepard and the crew of the SSV Normandy, can he make a difference in the race to save the galaxy against Saren Arterius and the Reapers? This is not your ordinary SI. ME1, Chapter 4 up!
1. Chapter 1

**[AUTHOR'S NOTE] **Hello, everyone! I'm back from a really _really_ long writing hiatus, and this time, I wanted to try something different from the adventure and SI fanfiction that I've been absorbing while on break. If you're familiar with the Day by Day Armageddon series of zombie novels by J.L. Bourne, the premise is rather similar. This is the journal of a clueless college student thrown into the fight against the Reapers with Commander Shepard leading the charge. I will try to stick to the canon as much as possible with this story, though the protagonist will obviously make some effort to deviate from normality. Anyway, if you're looking for action, this is just the first bit and I'll be introducing our protagonist to the universe of Mass Effect _reeaally_ soon.

By the way, as an obligatory disclaimer, all characters except the protagonist are not mine. The Mass Effect franchise and its characters all belong to Bioware/EA. Any other games or properties mentioned belong to their copyright holders.

Finally, I'm rather unused to this writing style, so any comments, reviews, or ratings shall be very much appreciated. Now, without further ado, I present to you…

**DAY BY DAY ARMAGEDDON**

**[TRANSCRIBED AUDIO LOG – December 24, 2012 :: 10:30PM]**

Hehehe.

One hour and thirty minutes until our traditional midnight Christmas dinner, and here I am, sitting like an idiot and talking to myself. I don't care, though, to be honest. My parents surprised me pretty badly with the Macbook Pro I'm using to record this right now, and to be honest, I can't believe they got me something this big for Christmas, because I was honestly expecting something small. It's better than an iPad at any rate. Thanks, mom and dad.

Anyway, I'm finally done transferring all my files from my faithful, trusty, and old-as-nails polycarbonate Macbook. I can't believe I made this old clunker last until 2012, but its slowness and smudginess is betraying its age. First thing I did was to get Dictation running. I promised to keep a journal of sorts last year, but I'm lazy and I like procrastinating, so I kind of failed that. That's probably going to be my New Years' resolution for 2013: Keep a log. I think this really is a rather good start for my journal, but I'm known for my lack of follow-through. I'll probably work on that as well in 2013.

At any rate, I'm off. The food beckons to my empty stomach.

**[December 26, 2012 :: 8:46PM]**

I spent Christmas day with my relatives, and Christmas night with my computer. I created a Boot Camp partition to allow me to game (I know I'll get flack for that but hey, it's the best of both worlds), and I migrated my Windows install to the laptop. Finally. I'm planning to go and finish Assassin's Creed 3 before the Christmas break ends. Connor and Haytham, here I come! :D

Another thing, I just got in touch with my classmates from high school and we're going to have a paintball match on the 30th. I better get my paintball marker checked out. We lost last time and I want to win the crown back from Team Alpha. I'll also be informing my bros to get ready. Team Beta FTW.

Before I actually got on with post-Christmas gaming, I took the time to open and/or count all my presents. Most of my relatives chose to send me money instead of goods, but I think my Uncle Chris, who sent me an N7 mug, deserves a special mention here. This must've been costly since this is the real deal from Bioware. Wow. I'm thankful I got a good haul of presents this Christmas, and I'm thankful for having a gamer uncle. Merry Christmas, Uncle Chris, and I hope you enjoy that copy of Journey I sent your way.

**[WRITTEN LOG - 11:28PM]**

By the way, I just got the Omega DLC for Mass Effect 3. I'll probably end up playing it after AC3. Going to sleep now.

**[TRANSCRIBED AUDIO LOG - December 29, 2012 :: 10:23AM]**

A friend of mine linked me to this awesome video from the guys who made Mass Effect 3 vs. Marriage, and of course, it was hilarious as hell. That's what you get for marrying a woman who likes Fifty Shades of Grey. I think that vid made my morning. I'm finishing up my AC3 run, but I have to admit, I'm getting bored. I'll probably open up my ME3 install and check out the Omega DLC earlier than planned. I've been hearing some rather unsavory stuff from my friends about how they ended Desmond's story and I fear that this will probably end up with my separation from the AC series at the very worst. I trust that the team behind the wheel would do this right, but you really can't help but worry after what happened with Ezio in Embers (Seriously, Ubi? That wasn't the all-out heroic final breath I was expecting). Also, I need to brush up on shooting stuff for the paintball match tomorrow.

Since the New Year is approaching, I'll start grabbing everything I need to stay entertained into my computer. I want to spend the New Year offline. I'll probably keep gaming when I get really bored but the Internet will be off-limits. It's family time.

**[2:36PM]**

I just learned that we'll be doing this match in that new paintball place in the province. I've been hearing some good stuff about it. Supposedly, a subdivision developer started clearing out a patch of the forest before the government found out that they managed to bribe the head of the local planning council and that the area was protected. The developers didn't manage to wipe out a large enough swath of the area before the government shut their little operation down but the area that they damaged couldn't really be restored to its original state. So what they did to utilize the land was to create a trail, some areas for picnics and parties, docks for canoeing, and of course, a lightly-wooded paintball field. Our plan is to have the match first, eat up, and then explore the area before going home.

I also finished Omega, and it was pretty good. My only qualm about it is that Aria and company feel… off somehow. Aria herself is just a little too mean in this DLC for my tastes. But it doesn't really matter. I think it's just leaning pretty heavily on my experience and my own personal biases. Anyway, I'm off. I have to rest my mind and my body for the big game tomorrow.

Team Alpha will have _hell _to pay.

**[A/N]** So how was it? I promise, the next chapter will be much longer and more action-packed since this is where he falls down into the proverbial rabbit hole. Don't forget to leave a review if you're interested! :D


	2. Chapter 2

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Sorry for the delay, people! Since I'm the type of guy who gets severe bouts of writer's block often, I decided to plot the entire thing from ME1 to ME3, which included a rather thorough playthrough of all three games, plus some brainstorming. I want to provide the best for all of you guys and I want to ensure I deliver it in a timely way. Again, this is all for the really awesome ME FF community. To the followers and reviewers of this story, thank you for your trust, and know that I'm writing this especially for you. You guys keep me motivated. :D

**DISCLAIMER:** ME isn't mine. It's EA's/BioWare's.

At any rate, this is where our protagonist manages to enter the world of Mass Effect. I won't hold you up any longer so enjoy Chapter 2 of Day By Day Armageddon. :D

**[WRITTEN LOG – DATE UNKNOWN]**

Out of the frying pan, into the fire.

Anyway, as a small consolation in my screwed-up world, we did win against Team Alpha. Take that, you insufferable bastards, I enjoyed sending you all to the benches. You may have won last time in that obstacle course thing you guys got us into, but Beta has finally served its revenge. But then again, if I don't find a way out of this mess, this paintball thing wouldn't even matter. Damn this.

So we were done eating and cleaning ourselves up after the match. The food was really excellent and the wind blowing softly was also a rather nice touch. It's a very idyllic spot. Some of the other boys were by the showering facilities (They allow dips into the nearby river, which is really clean considering what that subdivision developer did to the area. The shower is just there so you can wash up after bathing), still cleaning their armor. I was with Bryan and Francis, talking about what we got for Christmas. The girls of both teams, on the other hand, were cleaning up the picnic table we used, packing their stuff, or playing in the river.

After we did all that sappy reunion stuff after shooting each other with paintballs, we began to pile up in the coaster we rented to get here. The coaster was rather packed, but we managed to fit everyone, and all the paintball gear. Phew. I was worried that we had to hire another vehicle to get here and back, so at least, our very sloppy over-the-phone planning for this activity actually worked.

I brought my new laptop to get everyone's pictures. Despite being such a lazy bum, I'm the only who actually uploads photos on Facebook after events and I became the designated uploader. I also had a notebook, some money, my phone, a couple of granola bars, a canteen filled with Gatorade (I never actually managed to drink it since I left the thing in my bag and my bag in the coaster) and a box of Band-Aids, just in case I get nicked. The armor is supposed to protect you in paintball, but sometimes, you end up with tiny nicks or bruises from crawling around or getting hit. I asked for all my friends' memory cards, which were then given to me obligingly, pulled my laptop out of its sleeve, and started transferring the pictures. I was in a rather cozy spot, given that I was at the back of the coaster, but I managed.

Of course, the coaster was noisy. We were all weaning ourselves off the adrenaline rush from the match and the antics we did in back in the park. Gary was still soaking wet; we dumped him into the river after we won and got called out by the park caretaker for that. We had to wrap his butt with bath towels so the driver can be convinced that his wet bum (He changed clothes, but he's still soaking for some reason) won't ruin the seats. Rowan was leading us all in trying (and failing) at singing. Once the transfers were done, I put the laptop back in the backpack and started singing along.

Then we probably would've gone singing all the way back to our homes, right?

I wasn't able to see what actually happened, but the driver suddenly swerved, the coaster's horns blared, and we found ourselves falling down a ravine. Everything we were holding flew inside the rattling steel skeleton of the coaster, and I felt myself getting splattered with liquid and food. Then the coaster suddenly stopped, and inertia did its job. I blacked out shortly afterwards.

I honestly don't know when I woke up. I was in an inclined position, with my head at the back of the headrest in front of me. I had some nasty bruises and cuts, and my legs felt like jelly. Taking my bag, I slowly made my own way forward. The coaster hit a boulder and the front end was squished, rendering the exit unusable. I had to take some other route. Supposedly, it's a standard to have a hammer that can break tempered glass inside buses, so I hoped that this coaster had them hanging around as well. Fortunately, a quick search managed to reveal one, which I managed to use.

At this point, I could drag anyone off the bus through the hole I made, but I was worried that their legs might've been stuck or that they might hit their heads on the way down. Most of them were unconscious, and the front end was pretty smashed. I chose to take my chances, jump off the bus, survey the damage from outside, and call for help.

The door at the front was unusable. The coaster impacted a boulder near the bottom of the ravine, crumpling a greater part of the front end. The back was relatively unscathed, and the engine doesn't look like it's going to blow, but we weren't going anywhere. I tried pulling the front door sideways. No dice. I left the hammer in, in case someone else wakes up and needs to get out, and pulled out my bag from the window, getting nicked by some shards of glass in the process.

The front part was soaking wet. Looking inside, the plastic canteen containing the Gatorade had cracked, drenching my cellphone, and the Band-Aids. Damn this. At the back, my laptop was moist, but not totally drenched, thanks to my clothes being in the way. The granola bars were crushed, but the packaging remained intact. I opened the trunk at the side and tried to retrieve some of my friends' larger bags. All our armor and paintball markers were here, but there's not much in the way of useful survival stuff. I thought of getting my friends' phones, but I then realized I had no way of getting back up into the coaster._ Crap._

My best chance of getting help would be climbing back up and waving down any passersby. It's a rather slim chance, but I do have to try to get help. This is going to be tough, since my legs feel like jelly, so I decide to go get a couple of paintball markers and use them as makeshift crutches. It's hard since the markers don't even reach my waist, but at least, they're solid enough to lean on. Then I make my way up.

A few tries later, I realize that the ravine is too rocky and steep to climb in my current condition, so I discard that idea and try walking around to find a not-so-steep path upwards. This was also met with failure, since from my roaming around, it looks like we fell into a deep point in the mountains surrounding the forest. I was about to return to the coaster when something glanced at the corner of my eye, and turning around, I saw something I didn't expect. It was a floating ball of light. I might sound like I'm kidding, right here and now, but I saw a huge ball of light, with lightning effects and all that. Of course, I did the most "logical" thing to do and started to follow it. Fortunately, it wasn't moving fast, allowing me to reach it without breaking something or tripping and falling. I've heard of people in accidents having near-death experiences that led them to safety, so what the hell. I'm willing to try. I just wished internally that my salvation was something more respectable than a giant ball of light that looked like that annoying fairy from The Legend of Zelda.

The next thing I knew, I was in a bed, and I can hear voices. My eyes were still pretty much shot, but there were bright lights, but after making these short observations, I immediately went under again. The next time I woke up, the lights were more subdued, and there was someone looking at me. I tried to move, but this someone just pushed me down.

"Lie down. You've been injured. We found you lying near the cliffs."

I didn't recognize the voice, or the face. I tried to make an effort to speak, but all that came out from my throat was a grunt. I tried to stand up again, but I felt a raging pain in my side, and I was forced to slump back on the bed. As my vision became clearer, I spot some details about my savior. She was wearing purple with white trim, and her clothes have these asymmetric sci-fi patterns on them. Damn, this is a rather scary medical facility.

"We're just a small community here. Who did this to you?"

I make my best effort to clear my throat and manage to mutter "It was an accident." I glance around and see myself attached to some machines, displaying read-outs. The curious thing is that the read-outs were holographic, causing churning in my gut and pounding in my head. "I had an accident. Where am I?"

"Eden Prime."

I did a mental double take.

"Say what again?"

"You are on Eden Prime, inside the local field clinic. We are in a remote area specially allotted by the Alliance for research. As I said, we found you by the cliffs, but the nearest community which is properly equipped to help you is too far. At any rate, we're already preparing to leave. You will be dropped off at the nearest town tomorrow, before we depart. All your belongings are in the nightstand."

Eden Prime. This must be some sort of cool yet sick joke. I do hope my friends and family are pulling my leg. Please, I hope they're pulling my leg. Or making an ME-themed welcome back party or something. That would be awesome. _Please._

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm Dr. Warren, a researcher in this facility."

Dr. Warren. The lady in the ME1 prologue with her insane companion, Dr. Manuel. Good work, people. You've done your research. But this charade ends now. Why don't you open the windows and let's see if this is really Eden Prime? This must be some trippy hospital, since they allowed my family and friends to redecorate the entire place in an ME theme. But the one thing they, or any single prankster can't redecorate is the view. But to my surprise, instead of offering some flimsy reason for not allowing me to open the windows, Dr. Warren, who I thought was a hired actress or something, obliges. And the view almost gives me a heart attack.

It wasn't the view that stuns me, I've seen better than the stretches of farmland surrounded by forests and cliffs. It's the trailer-like futuristic houses and that massive building in the distance with tiny shuttles flying about them that gets me. I take in a deep breath. _But that's impossible_, I thought. How did I end up on freaking _Eden Prime?_

More importantly, since Dr. Warren is here, they're probably researching the Beacon. Since they're packing up, they're probably preparing to send the beacon, which will probably get intercepted by the geth before it's transported offworld. And then, the Normandy will arrive because that very important package is late, and Commander Shepard will get exposed to the visions in that thing before it blows, they go to the Citadel, and ME1 begins in earnest.

Dr. Warren bids her leave shortly after and I'm left alone and angsting on a hospital bed. The realizations hit me hard. My friends are in an accident, I'm in a planet about to be overrun by geth forces, and more importantly, I'm stuck in a galaxy about to get wiped out by evil calamari from space. Even more importantly, I'm stuck here with no idea as to how I even managed to get here in the first place, which probably means I left my body in some sort of coma in the real world and I'll die or I disappeared without a trace, worrying all my loved ones and possibly placing the blame for the accident on me.

This is insane.

But then again, it's just a day or two before the geth and the Normandy arrive. An insane idea starts forming in my head. An idea that should hopefully lead me back home, and if all the self-inserts that came before my own experience were right, save the galaxy in the process.

I'm going to help Commander Shepard.

**PS:** I'm going to keep writing a journal, even on paper, partly to fulfill my New Year resolution, chronicle this weirdness, and hopefully keep me sane throughout the ordeal. I don't want to risk using my laptop though until I manage to ensure it's working and secure it, so I asked the attending nurse for a pad of paper and a pen. She looked at me funny, but she managed to secure these loose sheets somewhere. Now, I just have to find a way to disable Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and the IR port on my laptop. I can't let these bits of information fall into anyone's hands.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** What do you think, guys? Read, rate and review!


	3. Chapter 3

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Here we go, people. This is the lead-up to our protagonist's plan to get onboard the Normandy. After this, and probably the next chapter, I'll be adding some more variations with journal entries. There will be short entries for life onboard the SR-1, and long entries for story-critical missions. Thanks to everyone who favorited, followed and reviews, you guys keep me going. :D Also, I'll try updating more frequently for you guys, because as what Dug from Up would say, I love you all.

**DISCLAIMER:** ME isn't mine. It's EA's/BioWare's.

So, here we go, people. We're plunging even deeper into the rabbit-hole. Chapter 3 of DBDA, coming right up, people.

**[WRITTEN LOG: DATE UNKNOWN]**

So I may have found an ally who can help me. The problem is that his brain may be pretty much toast.

I spent the next couple of hours or so after Dr. Warren departed thinking about how to acquire a set of armor and a gun once I get out of the hospital. The doctor in charge informed me that I am free to go, but I can stay and recuperate for the time being if I chose to. Also, the entire treatment was free, thanks to the Alliance shouldering all of this clinic's expenses as part of the research and excavation program. I silently thank the Alliance for that, since I don't have any money. Phew. But then again, I have nowhere to go to so I tell the doctor that I'll be staying for another day, and at that point, she leaves me alone, probably for the moment, probably for good.

There was no hospital or clinic in the first Mass Effect's Eden Prime mission, so I have absolutely no idea as to how I'm going to get to the spaceport where the beacon is stored or to the offices where you find Dr. Warren. Also, I don't have any credits at all, so I can't get anything, unless I grab some gear from someone. The problem is that there's really no someone to grab from, since I'm in a place where they heal people, not shoot them. My thoughts immediately flutter to the possibility of infiltrating a security office in here, but my brain shoots the idea down, arguing that I'll probably get riddled with holes even before I manage to get anything.

My brilliant plan falls to tatters within the first few minutes of me actually thinking through the logistics of the thing. Maybe Garrus had a point, hospitals aren't really nice to fight in. I search myself internally for inspiration, but I find myself mentally exhausted. My thoughts keep flying back to the universe or time frame or whatever I left. I wonder if my friends have been found already, if my family has been informed. But damn, the thought of what my parents would be going through is just too painful. So I close my eyes and try to calm down_. I need to figure a way out._

I don't know how many minutes passed since then, but it was probably less than an hour before I heard a shuffling noise and felt something cold pressed against my head. I jerk my eyes open in surprise and find Manuel, the insane scientist, research assistant, or whatever, pointing a pistol at my forehead. _Whoa, whoa, whoa._ I feign surprise, which wasn't realy hard since I have a freaking madman pointing a gun at my head.

"Wait a minute, who are you?" I manage to sputter.

"I should ask, who are you?" he responds.

"What are you talking about?"

He pulls out something from a case he was carrying. _Oh, crap. _It was my laptop. I never actually checked the nightstand for it when I wrote my last entry. I just assumed nobody decided to look over my contents. He gives me a pointed stare. "What do you think? I'm just an ordinary guy in an accident!" I respond, in a feeble attempt at deflecting his question.

He puts the laptop on top of the nightstand, picks up his gun and presses it harder against my forehead as I try to stand up. "That laptop is antiquated. If you are truly from this period, that battery would swell. Render it nonfunctional. And this." He opens up his omnitool. "Your files." He opens up one of our pictures from the paintball trip. "Last file was dated December 2012. You are in the pictures." He opens up another folder and I feel my eyes widen as the video of the Prothean beacon's vision plays. _Oh god, he accessed the Mass Effect folder. Did he manage to open the game? _

"I found you by the cliffs. I forged your identity and got you here. I opened your files. I opened this. The beacon. I saw the images from the beacon. In here. Now tell me or I shoot. What do you know? Are you with _them_?"

Okay, so he's been exposed to the beacon, giving him a somewhat vague idea about the Reapers. He found me somewhere when I was transported into this universe and took me to the hospital. Wow, he actually managed to make me look innocuous enough to not arouse suspicion in Dr. Warren. And of course, he has a rather vague idea about my origins. So I decide to tell him who I am and what I know will happen, though I make a conscious effort not to spill anything beyond Eden Prime. Once I mention the geth invasion and Sovereign during the handover of the beacon, he looks around in panic and informs me that the handover was scheduled for tomorrow. _Damn it._ I was hoping I'd have the luxury of time. Once I finish, Manuel's eyes narrow at me, and he says "Eternal darkness is coming. They can't be stopped. But you know how. Come with me."

I get up. There's really no arguing with a madman with a gun, and besides, Manuel is my best hope right now of actually getting to Shepard. My entire body still feels very sore, but I manage to find my strength and grab my stuff in the nightstand, as well as my laptop. Manuel trots out quickly, and I try to follow. We then boarded a cab and headed for his office.

I do hope his sanity holds out long enough to help me help us all.

**PS:** I do hope he drives faster. I'm done writing and there's still no sign of his house. This is _**unintelligible scribble – cannot be transcribed by OCR program**_

**[TRANSCRIBED AUDIO LOG – nodatespecified/]**

Okay, so my laptop is back in commission. Once we got to his house (It didn't really take a while, and the almost-afternoon sun was still shining when we got there), Manuel gave me a spare omnitool and taught me how to use it. I managed to remove the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth boards, cut the cable leading to the antennas in the display and tape over the IR port itself for good measure. Thank the heavens, Torx screws aren't proprietary anymore in the future. Also, I do think that cutting the wireless is one heck of a paranoid move, but in a place where you can hack anything by slathering omnigel on it, I can't afford to be careless. Also, I tried opening my phone but I find that the internals are still really moist, so I find a container, fill it with some uncooked rice from Manuel's stash of MREs (Well, they're not MREs but I don't know what to call them. Not-MREs?) rations, dump my phone in it, and seal it. The rice should absorb the moisture from the phone, but I wasn't able to do this immediately, so the phone's prognosis is still pretty grim.

Anyway, I tried to explain my plan to Manuel. It's pretty simple, actually, even if the entire explaining thing eats up more than a couple of hours or so. I was planning on shadowing Nihlus once he arrives, head with him to the spaceport with the beacon, and find some way to save him. Failing that, I'm going to get some evidence showing his defection to the geth or the Reapers. Either way, I hope it would make me valuable enough to Shepard's cause. After that, I don't know what's next, to be honest. I don't see how I'll get home at this point, but I'm just hoping that we'll find a way. The Normandy takes in a whole of insanity during the games, and I fail to see how a time-travelling or universe-traversing (I do hope it's time-travelling, this is one heck of a badass future, Reapers notwithstanding) college kid from a couple of centuries ago and his issues would be anything more than standard fare for Shepard.

I interrogate, then inform Manuel about what he needs to do. Apparently, the scientists should be the first to be sent offworld, so there will be only a skeleton crew of brainiacs working anytime tomorrow. Also, he hasn't opened the game, it just accessed the files within the game. I stress to him that he has to stick with Dr. Warren and steer Shepard's team to the spaceport, where I'd be waiting. I'd ask him to find a way to secure me some equipment right now, and he can then try to think of a way to ensure the colonists nearby are protected without tipping our hand. He gives me his pistol, a box of medi-gel vials, as well a a tiny kinetic barrier generator. Unfortunately, he doesn't have any sort of armor, so it looks like I'm going to have to go to battle with just the shirt on my back. Damn, that's a rather unsound plan for confronting a renegade Spectre and a bunch of geth. But that was better than an absolute lack of equipment, which was the rather unfortunate situation I found myself earlier. Manuel has no objection to the plan, but he kept mumbling to himself, which makes me question his comprehension my plan. I do hope Lady Luck would favor me tomorrow and keep Manuel lucid enough to be semi-coherent.

After I had finished stocking up and reviewing my plans with Manuel, I pack my bag. I'm putting in my laptop, some water in an Alliance-issue metal canteen, my still-nonfunctional phone in its rice container, a couple of the not-MREs, my crushed granola bars (I still haven't gotten around to eating them) and the medi-gel. I try out the kinetic barriers and the pistol. It's pre-ME2, so thermal clips still aren't present, and I think that's a plus since I don't have to worry about reloading. The kinetic barriers, on the other hand, are apparently designed for protection from falling debris in excavation operations, and are not designed to take a beating from ME's guns. I have no intention of testing how long they would hold under sustained fire, so I should stick close to cover and avoid confrontation as much as possible. The pistol works surprisingly like a paintball pistol marker, with almost zero recoil, so I have no problem acclimating with how to work the thing. I'm not going to win any awards for accuracy though (Bullets don't do splash "damage" like paintballs do, which is kind of sad for spray-and-pray people like me), so I have to be rather conservative with my shots. I practiced until my hands grew sore, and hey, I'd call it a productive night. I decided to try the rations for dinner (beef brisket, if I remember correctly), and having lived on yummy Christmas food for a couple of weeks, it tastes rather sparse. But compared to the dorm food I had to live through, it tastes like heaven. Probably my last taste of heaven if this goes par-shaped. And with that happy thought, I savor every bite. Delicious.

At this point, I did what I can do, and there's nothing much to do except to hope that I'd stay alive long enough to be useful, so I decide to rest. Goodbye, journal. It's a long day tomorrow.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** What do you think, guys? The rice trick has saved my phone in countless situation, and I do recommend it if you don't have access to the anti-moisture silicone balls that come with shoes and the like. Don't forget to read, rate and review!


	4. Chapter 4

**[A/N] **Sorry for the late update, people! I had to rewrite this several times to get the tone right, since I was rather unsatisfied with how I originally wrote this chapter. This is the first of two chapters I'm dedicating to Prologue: Find The Beacon, so stay tuned for my next update (probably coming this Sunday, as scheduled. :D)

As always, remember to read, rate and review!

**[DISCLAIMER]** ME belongs to Bioware/EA. :D

**[TRANSCRIBED AUDIO LOG - **** nodatespecified2/]**

Manuel dropped me off a good distance from the spaceport before he headed to the research station with Dr. Warren. He did his packing, the back of the car was occupied by two bags filled with what I think is survival stuff. I do worry about his safety once he reveals he's been fortuitously hoarding these things in the middle of a damned geth invasion, though I do hope that they chalk it up to his insanity so he won't end up getting lynched. I managed to position myself near the spaceport itself, on a ledge overlooking the spot where Saren shoots Nihlus. The dock workers are rather busy carting off supplies to waiting shuttles or scurrying around on some other business, and from this spot, I can view the sleepy guy who saw what happened to Nihlus in ME1 sleeping in the corner. Lazy bum. Then again, his laziness did end up saving his life, so who am I to judge?

Anyway, it wasn't long before the proverbial shit hit the fan. Manuel's spare omni-tool had access to the majority of the frequencies used by the crew, so I can hear the geth forces' initial attack at the spaceport and the reports of a huge geth ship (I'm assuming it's Sovereign) decimating the token air force the Alliance had stationed at Eden Prime. I try to swallow my fear and turn off the omni-tool. I didn't want to hear the chatter. At this point, I felt really guilty about those people, but I tried my best to focus on what I had to do, which was to figure out a way to save Nihlus, who would be my ticket to the Normandy.

I did end up opening my omni-tool after some time, but not to listen to the radio chatter out of curiosity. The soft but persistent flash of the omni-tool alerted me that someone was sending some sort of general distress call. I was expecting that this would be the distress call that sends the Normandy here, but what was being broadcasted was far more distressing (sorry).

_[Inserted: RECORDED GENERAL DISTRESS CALL TRANSCRIPT]_

"All forces, this is Ensign Wright. We managed to remain in control over the short-range comms and the comm control station, but a small geth force took over the junction leading to the comm buoy uplink. To all armed forces nearby, we need you to destroy the force and reactivate the uplink so we can send a distress signal to Alliance Command. Attached is the coordinates to the junction site. MESSAGE REPEATS"

"Ensign Wright, this is Gunn *static* -Williams, over."

"Chief, we need you to go and turn on the junction, or we won't get any help from the Alliance. You're currently the only unit nearby, most have been neutralized by geth forces. We need you there ASAP"

"Negative *explosion* -my squad is *static* by the main route, holding out but taking heavy casualties. *static* -pinging the junction or spaceport security force."

"Negative, gunny, the geth took them by surprise. Wiped them all out. Also, the geth are trying to jam short-range comms, advise that you move closer to maintain contact."

"Copy that. *static*-iams out"

_[END TRANSCRIPT]_

_Crap._

Someone needs to get to that box, or Saren might steal the beacon beneath the Alliance's nose. The security force is dead, thanks to a small geth force and the only team that is near the box is pinned down by a huge amount of hostiles. Bad luck must have a crush on me or something.

I check the navpoint that the ensign sent over and put it on my map. The junction is rather close to the spaceport, in a small clearing just beside the main road, with only one narrow path leading to it from the spaceport road. The closest squad is located just before the researchers' offices. I'm technically closer to the box than them, and I need that call sent, so I made the foolhardy decision to abandon my nook with a view and head down for the junction box. I'm going to have to take a gamble here, since I'm very lightly armed, but the possibility of being able to retrieve armor or better weaponry from the bodies or from scattered containers is just too tempting to resist. Besides, if I don't, we're pretty much screwed, and for what it's worth, I'm probably a dead man anyway.

I set out, sticking to the trees and avoiding the main road, which was heavily geth-infested (Finally, I can put my Boy Scout hiking skills to use). I spot a couple of ordinary platforms watching over several hunched-back, deactivated ones, and decide that taking a healthy forest detour won't do me any harm. For a pretty long stretch of the path, the only things that saw me were tiny, unfamiliar animals and birds. My luck did run out eventually, and a lone geth trooper spots me from the road, firing rapid shots from its assault rifle. I duck into the safety of a thick tree, peeking and shooting. It goes to the left, trying to flush me out, but a lucky shot from yours truly nails it in the chest, stunning it. I take the precious few seconds to unload a barrage of bullets at its shiny flashlight head, deactivating the platform for good. Phew. Too close. I savor the adrenaline rush, appropriate the dead platform's assault rifle, and move deeper into the forest, consulting the omni-tool and navigating using the road as a guide.

As I made my way through the forest, I think back to the transmission. The woman on the other end was probably Ashley and her squad making their stand. They're probably holed up just before Manuel and Warren's offices, since that's where we met Ashley during the first game. Wow. That was always a background detail for me, a trope to introduce the character. But hearing just a bit of it feels a whole lot more visceral. More real. And I have to admit, even though living in this universe is pretty darn cool, that feels really creepy. I find myself wishing them good luck, and happy hunting. If I succeed, we'll probably meet face-to-face soon.

Fortunately, I don't encounter any more active platforms. They must've gone dormant after eliminating the pockets of resistance from security teams and researchers. Once I take on the geth force guarding the tower, however, they will, in all likelihood, activate and attempt to retake the junction. I wonder how Manuel and Dr. Warren are holding up. I hope they're doing what they did in the game, holed up in their offices and safe from harm. At any rate, I have to do this quickly and slip away before geth reinforcements come in droves.

I reach the road leading to the uplink junction box, and surprisingly, there are no platforms or recon drones hanging around, but in the spirit of caution, I chose to take to the forest. The trees leading to the comm junction, however, were more densely packed, and I had a hard time keeping silence. And I think I stepped on a few of those squirrel-like things. I admit, I was expecting geth to spot me, but I managed to work my way to a spot near the edge of the clearing, sustaining only a few scratches. I had to admit, the junction box was a bit smaller than I imagined. It looked like two high-tech broom closets, with shiny chrome trim and piping. There was a small building that looked like a shed with the Alliance logo stencilled on it, and two active geth troopers patrolling the area to top it all off.

I was expecting it to be more crowded since this is a pretty critical piece of hardware, but I can work with two troopers. Moving slowly, I activate my shields, take my aim at the trooper closer to the trees with my pistol, and fire several successive shots. The shots take it by surprise, and it goes down pretty easily. The second trooper spotted my position after I fired, however, and took shots at me, sending little clouds of sawdust up in the air. I move out of cover and into the shadow of another tree, spraying and praying. The trooper manages to take several shots at me, cutting my shields down to half. It emerges from cover and I send another spray over, as it responds in kind. I managed to take its shields down, at the cost of depleting my own, and nail it with full-auto AR fire until the gun overheats. In its dying spasm (again courtesy of yours truly) however, it manages to shoot me in the leg.

Damned stupid geth, that _fucking_ hurt.

I plop down on the ground and I think I winced in pain for several minutes (a few curses were involved). Thankfully, it's not spurting blood like I imagined it would, the speed (ME guns use mass effect fields to shoot small bits of metal [not really a bullet] at really quick speeds) probably cauterized the surrounding area as the "bullet" impacted my body tissue. It will probably get infected though if I just leave it like that, so I use my omnitool to apply some medigel on the entry point. I don't know if I applied it correctly (damn, that amputated soldier in Huerta Memorial comes to mind, but I'm a little bit of a hypochondriac), but I can feel the pain slowly dissipating. That's probably a good sign.

I try standing up, careful not to apply pressure on my wounded leg. The pain resurfaces, though it was remarkably more subdued, more like a bee sting than an actual gunshot. Limping over to the shed, I find the body of the lone guy assigned to guard the junction, and several dead platforms. Damn, this guy was hardcore. I search his body to find anything of use and find a couple of grenades, and another vial of medigel. I find a hard case near a desk containing another personal shield generator, but this time, it looks like it was designed for military use. I put the shield generator on and turned it on to test it. I can't salvage the dead soldier's armor, and the lot of the crates in the shed looked sealed or empty. The only weapons in here were another set of assault rifles and pistols, and I already have them, so I leave them all be. The geth weren't much better, since there wasn't anything of value to get from them. I went outside.

So I opened my omnitool, reactivated the junction (thank the heavens, I didn't have to do any hacking, just some dialogue boxes) and respond to the distress call, notifying Ensign Wright that the junction was back online. I think he was perturbed by what I did and tried asking who I was, but I notify him to make it quick because geth reinforcements might arrive soon and I have to bugger out. He duly complies, no questions asked, and notifies me that he detected geth platform activation signals near the main road. If I'd been in his position, I'd have shaken the hand of the poor chap who had to do what I just did. But then again, it won't hurt to be cautious.

At this point, and if I remember correctly, the Normandy should be on the way to pick up the beacon. Once they arrive from the system relay, they'll receive the colony's distress call, so that means I have to hightail it to the spaceport quickly before they arrive. I quickly copy over Wright's message from the comm junction for later perusal and got away from the clearing just in time. I enter the forest once again and make my way back to the spaceport as quickly and as quietly as I can. I'm recording this as I walk, though, just in case something happens to me. Hopefully, and if everything goes just right, I'll live long enough to at least make another entry.

See you later, journal.

**[A/N]** And there you have it. Part 2 of Prologue: Find The Beacon is going to be exciting, folks, so remember to stay tuned!


End file.
